There are three major steps in the study of the Bible. It doesn't take long to see the logic of these three steps.
The first step is OBSERVATION. Logically, you cannot understand what you do not know, and you cannot know until you have observed. Observation can be defined as seeing things as they really are. That involves two components: Seeing things accurately, and seeing things thoroughly. Much of our Bible study fails in these two areas. If we fail in these two areas, then our conclusions will be faulty.
The second step is INTERPRETATION. Having seen things accurately and thoroughly, we must go on to ask, "What does what I have seen mean?" In this stage we ask and answer a lot of questions. Our questions are categorized into the following groups:
Observation questions (O); What did I see when I went through the observational stage. Our observations can be grammatical observations, rational observations and structural observations.
Definitional questions (D): These questions seek to define terms. There are some secondary definitional quesions as follows:
     Termal questions (t) What is meant by this term. Look up the definition in a dictionary or Bible dictionary.
     Identifying question (i):  Who is this person: Look up the name of the person in a Bible dictionary.
     Locale question (l): Where is this place? Look up the nakme of the place in a Bible dictionary.
     Temporal question (t): When is this? Look up the name of an event (feast of tabernacles, passover, etc) in a Bible dictionary.
     Modal question (m): How does this work?
Rational questions (R): Rational questions ask why. Why is this here? Why did the author include this material in his book? Why does this cause lead to this effect? etc.)
Implicational questions (I): This is the question toward which all the ansers to previous questions points. Essentially, it asks "What conclusions can I draw from the answers to the previous questions?" You want to have as much information from answering the prevfious questions as possibl ebefore ansering this question.  Remember, also, that implications or conclusions can often lead to other implications or conclusions. This is called "Ladders of Implications."
The final step is the APPLICATION step. This is where we ask "What should I do as a result of what I have learned?" If you don't anser this question, then you have wassted your time in Bible study. Don't mix up implications with application. The two are quite separate.
Remember that these three steps are to be completed in the order in which I gave them.
Observation first;
Interpretation second;
Application last.
That doesn't mean you should no go back to a previous step when you discover more information. Always be willing to let the information change your mind.

     Termal questions (t) What is meant by this term. Look up the definition in a dictionary or Bible dictionary.
     Identifying question (i):  Who is this person: Look up the name of the person in a Bible dictionary.
     Locale question (l): Where is this place? Look up the nakme of the place in a Bible dictionary.
     Temporal question (t): When is this? Look up the name of an event (feast of tabernacles, passover, etc) in a Bible dictionary.
     Modal question (m): How does this work?
Rational questions (R): Rational questions ask why. Why is this here? Why did the author include this material in his book? Why does this cause lead to this effect? etc.)
Implicational questions (I): This is the question toward which all the ansers to previous questions points. Essentially, it asks "What conclusions can I draw from the answers to the previous questions?" You want to have as much information from answering the prevfious questions as possibl ebefore ansering this question.  Remember, also, that implications or conclusions can often lead to other implications or conclusions. This is called "Ladders of Implications."
The final step is the APPLICATION step. This is where we ask "What should I do as a result of what I have learned?" If you don't anser this question, then you have wassted your time in Bible study. Don't mix up implications with application. The two are quite separate.
Remember that these three steps are to be completed in the order in which I gave them.
Observation first;
Interpretation second;
Application last.
That doesn't mean you should no go back to a previous step when you discover more information. Always be willing to let the information change your mind.